Former England captain Michael Vaughan witnessed a rare spectacle in T20 cricket on Sunday. The 2023-24 BBL match between Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers was abandoned due to an unsafe pitch.
Only 6.5 overs of play were possible after Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to bowl. The pitch reportedly behaved in an “unusual and dangerous” manner after heavy rain fell in Geelong and water seeped through the covers onto the pitch, causing uneven bounce and dangerous conditions for batsmen.
🗣️ “Is it safe?” 🗣️ “Probably not.”
The match has been delayed due to the state of the field, this ball being the last straw…# BBL13 pic.twitter.com/WV6zDRMsnH
– 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 10, 2023
Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan were commentating for Fox Sports when the match was cancelled. The two shared their thoughts after the two teams shared a point each.
“By the time we hit the ground we were all a little suspicious. It’s talked about how much it’s talked about and it’s about ignoring it and letting the show go on because of all the contributing factors, the fans, the kids that are here, us as broadcasters and the players. But it was very, very obvious and then Nic Maddinson said it at the draw.
“We heard him say, the wicket is soaked and that is why I am going to bowl. “I want to know what this is going to do so I have some idea of how to plan and play this game,” Gilchrist said.
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Michael Vaughan, however, had a different view of this than his Australian teammate. He attributed it to a logistical issue and said that the game of cricket in general has had unique ways of discovering that the game has issues that need to be addressed positively.
I just get frustrated with cricket – Michael Vaughan
“I just feel frustrated with cricket. Cricket has a habit of these scenarios. I’m pretty sure they knew it was going to rain all day yesterday, can’t they get extra coverage? I saw him in a Test match in the UK at Old Trafford, I saw him last year at the SCG when there wasn’t enough coverage… he took too much time out of the game.
“We always think ‘oh, that’s unfortunate’, but seriously, you can’t get enough covers to cover an area of grass and get more covers to ensure today’s game goes ahead. I just find that sometimes in cricket we make too many excuses for things that shouldn’t happen. That should not be the case of a match being abandoned because water got onto the field,” Vaughan said, highlighting an interesting aspect of the game that remains intact.
The two teams remain in the middle of the points table after Sunday’s suspended match. Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers are the two best teams at the moment.
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